OMB Releases Specifics on Budget Cuts to Trade Agencies from Sequestration
CBP should plan to pare back $512 million from its FY 2013 budget, according to a recent White House report. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) detailed exactly how the $85 billion in cuts would affect federal agencies following the president's release of the sequestration order March 1. Several agencies that oversee trade issues should expect to reduce their 2013 fiscal year expenditures by 5 percent, the report said.
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OMB said the cuts will be "deeply destructive" to national security, domestic investments, and core government functions, said a letter signed by OMB Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey Zients. "The Joint Committee sequestration is a blunt and indiscriminate instrument. It was never intended to be implemented and does not represent a responsible way for our nation to achieve deficit reduction," Zients wrote. "The administration continues to stand ready to work with the Congress to enact balanced deficit reduction legislation that replaces sequestration and puts the nation on a sound long-term fiscal path."
The 5 percent cuts, mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and incorporating several changes made by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, equate to nearly 9 percent cuts for all non-exempt, non-defense programs because they must be achieved over 7 months rather than 12, the report said. Sequestration must be applied equally at the program, project, and activity level, but need not be applied equally to each type of budgetary resource within a budget account, the report said. The cuts will place many federal employees in administrative furlough, which may not begin until April due to a policy that requires agencies to bargain with federal unions at least 30 days prior to implementing any furloughs. Each agency has discretion to decide which employees will be furloughed.
CBP will see a 5 percent cut, or $512 million from its $10.2 billion budget, the report said. Agency programs said to see cuts as a result include: automation modernization ($17 million), payments to wool manufacturers ($1 million) and refunds and operations in Puerto Rico ($5 million). ICE will see cuts of $294 million, the report said.
The International Trade Commission will see a $4 million cut, while the International Trade Administration's budget for operations and administration will be cut by $23 million. The sequestration will cut $1 million from the Court of International Trade's salaries and expenses and the U.S. Trade Representative's Office will lose $3 million, the report said.
The Food and Drug Administration will see a $209 million cut to salaries and expenses. At the Consumer Product Safety Commission, salaries and expenses will be cut by $6 million. Finally, at the Department of Agriculture, salaries and expenses will be cut by $56 million at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and $53 million at the Food Safety and Inspection Service
(See ITT's Online Archives 13030416 for summary of CBP's plans and expectations under sequestration. See ITT's Online Archives 13022831 for summary of expected delays to CBP rulings and 13022528 for summary of likely cargo processing delays.)